More than 400 knives were handed in across Nottinghamshire during a week-long knife amnesty.

Terrifying-looking weapons including samurai swords, meat cleavers, axes, machetes and flick knives where handed in at 13 stations across the county - including two amnesty bins based in Worksop and Retford.

Nottinghamshire Police say 418 blades were handed in in total as part of national knife crime reduction campaign, called Operation Spectre.

Read More

"The support of the community is absolutely vital in tackling this issue so to get such a big reaction from across the county during this amnesty is incredibly positive and I am genuinely grateful for everyone's help."

The knife amnesty, which was supported by police forces and partner agencies across the country, took place between September 17 and September 23.

Notts Police seen a 50% rise from their last amnesty in 2013 (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)

The force also received a further 36 assorted weapons, including knuckle dusters, arrows and ninja throwing stars.

Assistant Chief Constable, Kate Meynell said that it is campaigns like this that really make a difference around communities.

She said: "The knife amnesty was a great chance to take even more weapons out of circulation and supplement the work we do all year round to tackle knife crime.

A sword recovered during the week-long amnesty (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)

"We have the only dedicated Knife Crime Team outside of the Metropolitan Police and have introduced Schools and Early Intervention Officers to schools across the county to help prevent knife crime happening in the first place.

"The success of this knife amnesty is really pleasing because it shows the strength of feeling in the community who, like us, want to make a difference.

"The support of partners agencies, including Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and the local councils who hosted an amnesty bin at some of our shared sites, is particularly welcome. And interestingly the second highest number of weapons was handed in at Gedling Borough Council's Civic Centre, the only fully non-police site which took part - so we will be exploring the potential for involving partners from other non-police linked organisations in future amnesties."